Over 47 years, the Seattle Gay News has covered thousands of stories that still resonate today. This week we look back at volume 38, issue 19, published on May 7, 2010.

Married Lesbians in Texas: As reported by SGN Staff Writer Mike Andrew, "A Lesbian couple has been legally married in Texas — even though same-sex marriages are constitutionally prohibited there — thanks to an apparent loophole in Texas state law. It turns out that Sabrina Hill was born intersexual and has both male and female sex organs. She is identified on her birth certificate as male, and it is this fact that got the couple legal permission to marry."

Arizona immigration law: LGBTQ groups denounced Arizona's new law on immigration, as reported by SGN Contributor Rex Wockner: "The statute requires police to check an individual's immigration status whenever an officer suspects an individual may be in the US illegally. The law has been dubbed 'Papers, please.'...

"'Arizona's new immigration law is draconian and inhumane,' said [National Gay and Lesbian Task Force] Executive Director Rea Carey. 'It has no place on the books anywhere. The potential for racial profiling, infringement of civil liberties, and violence and harassment against individuals and their families just going about their daily lives is enormous. Comprehensive immigration reform is critically needed, but targeting and demonizing people is not the answer; stripping people of fundamental rights and common humanity is not the answer. Our political leaders must work toward reform that is fair and humane. This law is neither. It is a cruel, quick fix that demeans our country's values of freedom, justice, and equality.'"

Update: According to AZCentral , "Before the law even went into effect, major parts of SB 1070 were halted by a US District Court judge in a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice. And most of the rest — along with other state immigration laws regarding human smuggling and denying bond to undocumented immigrants — was whittled away in subsequent federal court rulings that said immigration control was the business of federal government, not individual states." As for the remaining provisions, a 2016 agreement with litigants included "an informal opinion from the Arizona Attorney General's Office that sets guidelines for law-enforcement officers when they encounter people who may be in the country illegally."

Social network murder: Hookups with tricks from craigslist or even hookup apps, including Grindr, that detected your GPS locations could be dangerous, as SGN Staff Writer Shaun Knittel reported: "Social networking sites for Gay men have turned into a playground for criminals, who log on to find unsuspecting victims for encounters that end up in theft and intimidation — and, in some cases, murder...

"After finding his body, police tracked down a friend of [Mark G.] Woodland's in California, who told them Woodland had met the man using an unidentified social networking application. The application uses a GPS to locate potential dates based on a person's proximity to other users.

"According to police, they were given Woodland's date's username for the app by his friend, as well as a description of the man last seen with Woodland by one of his neighbors. They tracked down a suspect whose iPhone arranged the date with Woodland and matched the description of the man.

"Tommy Reed, 19, was arrested and taken to police headquarters for questioning. He made certain admissions, which, combined with other evidence, gave police probable cause to make an arrest. Reed was booked on charges of second-degree murder."

Update: There have been quite a few serial killers that have used the dating app to lure their victims, including Andrew Port, 40, in England in 2014; Mark Latunski, 50, of Michigan in 2019; and Chance Seneca, 19, of Louisiana in 2020.

Now that we're married, where do we get a divorce?: Guest Writer Robert Christian asked this question. At the time, DC allowed same-sex marriage, and Hawaii supported civil unions. "The problem is that once a couple has been married, if they must divorce, where do they go?...

"Under the US Constitution, states generally recognize the laws of other states. Heterosexual marriages and divorces are recognized when a couple moves from one state to another. Couples are not required to get remarried — or redivorced — each time they relocate. But the rules vary by state for legally married Gay couples, family law experts say. When a same-sex couple wants a divorce, the battle is on to find out what their legal rights are in that state.

"This is going to be a battle for the high court. Providing that states would be forced to allow same-sex divorce, in essence, could mean that the federal government would have to also pull the plug on states that have banned same-sex marriage, and force them to not just accept it but also to offer the same legal protection in divorce cases."

Christian concluded, "It shocks me to hear people say that we want equal rights under the law. What we are looking for is equal rights within the law, not under it."

Update: After the passing of Ref. 74, from December 2012 to August 2013, 7,071 gay couples tied the knot in Washington state. That's 17% of the total 42,408 new marriages, or one out of six. Data regarding how many ended up divorced wasn't available by press time.

In A&E news:

Seattle's Pride Idol: round 1: Our very own SGN Staff Writer Shaun Knittel was a judge. As he reported, "The winner of Pride Idol, round one, was Ryan Crawford. Ryan's win should send a message to Pride Idol hopefuls: Yes, you do need to sing well, but it is all about the full package. Ryan worked it! From audience banter and dance moves to hit the right notes at the right time, it was clear that Ryan had claimed the top spot as his own. Paula Cole's 'Feelin' Love' may not be the song that most would choose for the contest, but Ryan saw something in those lyrics that worked for him — and ultimately for us. Great job, Ryan, and congratulations."

2010 summer film preview: Staff Writer Sara Michelle Fetters previewed the films of the summer of 2010. "These are the days when the grosses flow into their coffers like rivers into an ocean, and each weekend is an event the studios pray will become a bonafide sensation. "All of this means that audiences can expect more of the same summer movies they've been heading to the multiplexes for years to enjoy. Big-budget sequels like Iron Man 2 , Shrek Forever After , The Twilight Saga: Eclipse , Sex and the City 2, and Toy Story 3 ? Check. Star-driven romantic comedies featuring ample amounts of humor and action like Knight and Day, Killers, and Going the Distance? But of course! High-profile remakes, comic book adaptations, video game spinoffs, and reboots like The A-Team, Robin Hood, Predators, The Karate Kid, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Piranha 3-D, and Jonah Hex? What would summer be without them?"

Update: While some were bombs (Sex in the City 2, Karate Kid, The A-Team, Killers), others were instant classics, like Eat, Pray, Love, Agora, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Winter's Bone, Toy Story 3, and The Kids Are All Right.

A dyke about town: This was a gone-too-soon column written by Merry Moosemuzzle, who attended events and wrote about them. One was the Rainbow City Band auction. "The dinner was delicious. The dance music by the Purple Passion Swing Band was upbeat and fun. Komo's Brian Calvert kept people laughing and bidding. The turnout broke the previous record for this event.

"Band director Michael Sharp said, 'Our finance director is still crunching the numbers, but the preliminaries look like it was a record year for us. And the most exciting news — we ended up making enough to finish our endowment to the Pride Foundation to create a new Rainbow City Band Pride scholarship! We are all so excited that we could burst."

Mr. and Miss Gay Cinco de Mayo: "On April 30, Efren Chacon and CALIENTE held the annual Mr. and Miss Gay Cinco de Mayo pageant at Neighbours Underground. Competitors had to answer questions ranging from LGBT interests to immigration reform, perform a song and dance routine, and model formal wear. When all was said and done, Miguel Torrez and Giselle Armore were crowned Mr. and Miss Gay Cinco de Mayo."